‘She was an unsung hero’: Billie Piper on playing producer Sam McAlister in a new drama about Prince Andrew’s Newsnight fiasco

In Scoop, the story behind the prince’s disastrous TV appearance, Piper plays McAlister, the woman who landed the interview. They discuss their unlikely alliance, the pitfalls of fame and the extent of Andrew’s delusionsThe Netflix film Scoop, which retells the story of how Newsnight landed its infamous, eye-popping 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, has a strong Working Girl vibe, which may be one reason why I enjoyed it (I’m talking about the Oscar-winning 1988 movie, in which Melanie Griffith plays a girl from Staten Island who dreams of climbing the corporate ladder). In part, this is thanks to the blond wig worn by one of Scoop’s stars, Billie Piper, which comes with a powerful whiff of the late 1980s. Mostly, though, it’s because Peter Moffat’s screenplay pitches Piper’s character, Sam McAlister, as a plucky outsider surrounded by somewhat toffee-nosed types who only finally begin to take her seriously when she lands the TV exclusive to end them all. One minute, her lip is trembling with the unfairness of it all. Why do her bosses disdain all her brilliant ideas? The next, she’s at Buckingham Palace telling the queen’s favourite son to his face that his brand is distinctly grubby and could do with a generous spin in the Newsnight washing machine.Was it really like this? When I meet Piper and the real life McAlister at Netflix HQ in the weeks before Scoop has its premiere, I hope vaguely to get to the bottom of some of the gossip that trails it; there’s talk, for... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-03-31 06:00:30 UTC ]
News tagged with: #meet piper #netflix hq #hope vaguely #ultimately delivered #netflix film #loosely based #executive producer #rival depiction #royal scandal #netflix production #unusual combination #piper plays #ten minutes #recent book

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘She was an unsung hero’: Billie Piper on playing producer Sam McAlister in a new drama about Prince Andrew’s Newsnight fiasco'


The 'Donut Dollies' of WWII: Novelist pays tribute his mother and other unsung heroes

Author Luis Alberto Urrea joins the L.A. Times Book club July 19 to discuss his new novel, "Good Night, Irene." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-24 14:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unsung heroes #good night #times book


B.J. Best, Andrew Ervin, and Brittney Morris on Video Games, Storytelling, and the Importance of Play

Writers B.J. Best, Andrew Ervin, and Brittney Morris join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri to discuss the narrative realms of video games and the evolving space they inhabit. The group reminisces about their first... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-04 08:53:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #brittney morris #video games #book festival


Ancient Drama for Modern Readers: Top 5 Greek Plays to Read in Translation

Bestseller lists of recent years have shown that our interest in the tales of the ancient Greeks is still going strong after three millennia, and even experiencing a renaissance. This is a testament, I think, to the timelessness of their content: the deeply human passions and agonies that they... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-24 09:52:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #modern readers #bestseller lists


Netflix is producing a live action 'My Hero Academia' movie

Netflix's penchant for live-action manga remakes isn't going away any time soon. The streaming service has revealed that it's partnering with Legendary Entertainment on a live action My Hero Academia movie. Anime and manga adaptation veteran Shinsuke Sato (Alice in Borderland, Bleach) will both... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-12-12 20:16:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #worth watching #track record #source material #manga


Oneworld scoops 'unforgettable' insider account from BBC Newsnight’s McAlister

Oneworld has commissioned an "unforgettable" insider account from former BBC "Newsnight" producer Sam McAlister, the "booker extraordinaire" who secured an infamous interview with Prince Andrew. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-17 23:51:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oneworld scoops #insider account #prince andrew


Gibson Square to publish book on Prince Andrew and Epstein

Gibson Square will publish Prince Andrew: The End of the Monarchy and Epstein by Nigel Cawthorne.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-22 03:45:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gibson square #prince andrew #publish book


Monica Lewinsky to produce TV drama about her affair with Bill Clinton

Latest series of the US hit show will recount the former White House intern’s affair with the then president that led to his impeachment in 1998Monica Lewinsky is among the producers on a new series of American Crime Story focusing on the Bill Clinton sex scandal.Titled Impeachment: American... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-07 11:59:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest series #bill clinton #hit show #anthology


Beck Dorey-Stein | 'I saw impressive women behind the scenes being unsung heroes every day'

In her entertaining début the former White House stenographer reflects on her time spent working for the 44th president and extols the virtues of a ‘yes, we can’ approach. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #44th president


Producer's childhood helped 'inspire' Harry Potter play

Sonia Friedman tells Desert Island Discs about bringing the best-selling book character to the stage. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2017-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Michael Gambon to play Winston Churchill in ITV drama

Churchill’s Secret is based on Jonathan Smith’s book set in 1953, when the former prime minister had a strokeSir Michael Gambon is to play Winston Churchill in a new ITV drama about his final years in office opposite Lindsay Duncan as his wife, Clementine.Churchill’s Secret is based on Jonathan... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book set #prime minister #final years


Forget Playing With Toys: Kids Can Play With The Catalog

Get out your crayons and mobile phones. The Toys 'R Us holiday catalog drops this week. At 96 pages, "The Great Big Toys 'R Us Book of Awesome" is its biggest issue ever and includes interactive elements for the first time."The Big Book, as we call it internally, is done every year, but this is... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #android devices


Miles to play Cromwell in Mantel plays

Actor Ben Miles has been cast as Thomas Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Company's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #thomas cromwell


Confronting the audience and breaking the fourth wall: why Black drama is getting meta

On stage and screen, self-referential works such as A Strange Loop and American Fiction are on the rise, with playful postmodernism a potent weapon in the fight against inequalityOfficers storm a ballroom, releasing a flurry of bullets that pierce through a Black man as he collapses in a pool of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-05-06 08:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books published


Andrew O’Hagan Weaponizes Fiction

For the Scottish novelist and journalist, the novel is a way to fight political misinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright lies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #conspiracy theories


Cover Reveal: ‘Yr Dead’ by Sam Sax

We’re thrilled to reveal the cover for Sam Sax‘s forthcoming debut novel Yr Dead, slated for August 6.  Here’s a bit about the book, courtesy of McSweeney: In between the space of time when Ezra lights themself on fire and when Ezra dies the world of this book flashes before their eyes. Everyone... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2024-04-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cover reveal #debut novel


Censorship Is a Hammer Looking for a Nail: PW Talks with Sam Helmick

The community and access coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library discusses their experience on the front lines of one of the nation’s most intense legal and legislative battles over the freedom to read and the very real impact book banning campaigns have on the LGBTQ community. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lgbtq community #front lines


Panel Mania: 'Ruth Asawa: An Artist Takes Shape' by Sam Nakahira

Sam Nakahira’s 'Ruth Asawa: An Artist Takes Shape' is a diligent and charmingly illustrated graphic biography chronicling the life and creative career of the celebrated Japanese American sculptor. A 10-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #10-page excerpt


Book Review: ‘Victim,’ by Andrew Boryga

In Andrew Boryga’s debut novel, a young writer creates a career for himself by exaggerating, or sometimes completely manufacturing, stories of tragedy. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-03-09 10:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review #young writer


Book Review: ‘What Have We Here?,’ by Billy Dee Williams

His charming memoir “What Have We Here?” traces the path from a Harlem childhood to “Star Wars,” while lamenting the roles that never came his way. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-02-13 10:00:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review #star wars #memoir